Hot Press meets Richard O'Connor aka Bitter Rocc

Less than six months ago, Dublin rapper Bitter Rocc – aka 26-year-old Richard O’Connor – released his debut album, Cold City. A mature collection of social observations set over smoky rhythms and sparse piano, the album was a hit – much to O’Connor’s surprise!

“It literally came from a bedroom, and now it’s everywhere!” he laughs. “I’m not in the limelight, yet people are carrying my music across the world. The internet is such a powerful thing these days.”
Scoring no less than four stars in these very pages, with HP’s Paul Nolan declaring it “one of the best homegrown hip hop releases in aeons”, the positive response gave O’Connor the confidence to push the boundaries musically with its follow-up EP, MMXIII. Dipping into nu-soul, jazz and rock territory, it comes as no surprise to learn that O’Connor’s own musical taste is similarly eclectic.
“I listen to a lot of older stuff,” he explains. “I used to be obsessed with Otis Redding, then I got into Ray Charles. A few years ago, I came across a Johnny Cash song Ray Charles had covered, and loved it. I’ve been obsessed with Johnny Cash ever since. I’ll listen to anything though – folk, jazz, classical. If I like a melody, I like a melody.”
A self-taught musician, animator and filmmaker, O’Connor’s journey to this point hasn’t always been easy. Born in Dublin, he and his family relocated to Manchester shortly afterwards, returning home when Richard was eight.
“It wasn’t a good move”, he sighs. “We ended up in homeless shelters in the city, eventually settling in Ladyswell in Blanchardstown. It was a big change – living in the UK, I’d never seen a robbed car, I didn’t know what drugs were. Heroin was a big thing at the time in Dublin too, it was running rampant.
“I turned into a monster,” he continues. “I was constantly getting into trouble, and dropped out of school early.”
Starting off down a dark path, O’Connor says his salvation came in the form of a youth centre in Blanchardstown.
“I went to an early school leavers’ programme called Foróige”, he explains. “From my first day there, it was like I started a new life, I was reborn.”
The centre’s facilities, as well as an inspirational youth worker, allowed him to explore his creative side.
“I met a guy there called Gavin Byrne. He was a youth worker and classically-trained pianist. He was so passionate about music, he became like a big brother to me. I’d never used a computer before – there were three MACs there, and Gavin let me use them.
“I was into animation too,” he continues. “They had everything – you could make films, really explore your creativity. It was a way to take what was in your brain and put it out there. There was a recording studio as well, that’s where I got
into music.”
Using [music production programme] Fruity Loops at Foróioge, O’Connor practised making beats, steadily growing in confidence before putting pen to paper and writing Cold City. A running social commentary on the darker side of life in Dublin, he says his lyrics are inspired by his own, often difficult, experiences in the city.
“The stuff I talk about, I know,” he asserts. “A lot of people listen to the album and think, ‘He’s got a great imagination!’ But I’m not making any of it up – I’ve been homeless, I’ve been around drug dealers and criminals. My own mother was a victim of domestic abuse. It’s not nice to say or hear, but it’s the truth. I know what goes on behind closed doors. I like to put these things down in song – it’s not that I want to put tinted glasses on people, I’m just speaking about the things I see.”
As well as writing, O’Connor produces and mixes all his own material, as well as shooting and editing his videos. Oh, and designing his own artwork! Did we miss anything?!
“Yeah, I make my own videos, design and produce everything myself,” he says. “I’d rather it that way, ‘cos I know what’s going on, and can’t blame anyone else if it goes wrong!